This week gave me the opportunity to cut back on my miles and give my legs some much needed rest. I'm still trying to acclimate to the heat! Every summer I go through this and I don't know if I ever do get used to it!
Weekly Rundown:
Sunday: volunteered at Chicago 13.1
Monday: CrossFit
Tuesday: Fluid Running
Wednesday: trail run 7 miles
Thursday: Strength training
Friday: run 6 miles
Saturday: Waterskiing!!
On Sunday morning my alarm went off at 3:45 and I was on the road with my Trail Sisters at 4:20 for our volunteer stint at the Chicago 13.1. We had to drive to the Douglas Park neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. The ladies were nervous about it. I reminded them that I ran this race last year and that there would be a large police presence. As soon as we got there, we got busy setting up our water station at mile 2. It was mindless work, setting up the cups and our chatter made the time pass quickly. One of my fellow Brooks teammates was also there with his running club.
Before we knew it, the wheelchair athletes were flying by, soon to be followed by the elite athletes. We were at water station 1 but the elites did not stop for water. The runners following them did, first snatching the cups from our hands. After that was the middle of the pack, where I saw another one of my Brooks teammates. Those runners took the cups gently and most of them thanked us, which was unexpected and really nice! The back of the packers took most of the water. It was warm and they had a long way to go! One of my coworkers was in this group and she was taking it slow and having fun.
So was I! I don't think I stopped smiling the whole time!
Once the final runners passed, we started the cleanup, raking all the cups into a compostable bag. It was quick and easy. We all agreed that we enjoyed ourselves and we're planning on volunteering at the Chicago Marathon. It was great being right there on the course!
On Monday, the strength portion at CrossFit had handstand negatives alternating with 8 per leg lateral box step-ups. SJ was very specific with the technique to ensure that we would be using our glutes to lift the leg and not momentum from the floor. We had 12 minutes on the clock and I completed 3 rounds. The MetCon was a banger: 3 rounds, 5 minutes each of 3 rounds of 10 dumbbell snatches (20#), 8 box jumps (20"), and 6 toes to bar (I did knees to chest). If you finished before 5 minutes were up, you got to rest until the next round. This was brutal. I did scale the bar reps down to 4 per round and the box jumps to box stepovers on the last 5 minute round.
I was excited to lace up on Wednesday morning! I hadn't run since the Friday before--my legs needed a little rest and I had that volunteer stint on Sunday. I felt pretty good on this run! With the temperatures predicted to be on the 90s, I did my best to get out the door early. It was still warm, but the trails were dry, which helped a lot. The foliage is really thick this year and is starting to encroach on the trails. I brushed up against a lot of weeds, which normally doesn't bother me, but that unleashed the cicadas who blindly flew into me and landed on me. {{shudder}} I will be glad when they are gone!
Once again this week, I swapped the strength workout for the WOD. It was a repeat of the one I did last week, but building on the reps. The first set alternated between dumbbell deadlifts and sumo squats. For both I used 2 25# dumbbells. The rep scheme was 10, 15, 20. Let me tell you that I felt it with the higher reps! The second set had 3 rounds of 10 hamstring curls, which I did on the exercise ball, followed by goblet squats. I had my heels on a plate and used the 25# dumbbell. Same rep scheme as the first set. The third set was weighted lunges--I used 2 12# weights-- 20m, 25m, and 30m. I finished with banded side steps, same distances as the lunges. I hope I'm not as sore as I was when I did this last week!
I felt a little anxious when I woke up on Friday, so I was really looking forward to my run! I laced up my Brooks Glycerins and headed out to the bike path. It was already in the 70s and fairly humid, so I did my best to keep my pace down to avoid having to stop to walk. It got tougher as I went and mile 6 was by far my slowest, as I had to stop to walk a few times to let my heart rate lower. Ahhhh...summer...
Off the Road
On Saturday, we drove up to the lake, and FINALLY, it was warm enough and the water was calm enough for me to ski. This is probably the latest I have ever gone for my first ski. I got up on the first pull, but this ride felt surprisingly hard! Hopefully, I will have more opportunities to ski and get myself back in the game. No photos of me because it's just the hubs and me in the boat. But later in the day, we did get to see the Mad City waterski team in action on our lake!
Before I skied, I went strawberry picking! Every June, we stalk the strawberry farm up in the little town where we have the lake house. The strawberries were big this year--we've had a lot of rain this spring--and I filled my container quickly. I ate quite a few too!
How was your week? Have you ever volunteered at a big race? Are you battling the heat right now?
Wow! What are you going to do with all those strawberries?
ReplyDeleteStrawberry season is about over here — I’ve been enjoying them from the farmer’s market but haven’t gone picking in years.
Believe it or not, we are down to about 2 cups left! My hubs froze most of them. We ate some and gave some to my father-in-law.
DeleteIt’s fun to be on the other side of the water stop for a change. It’s hard work too! The heat gets me every summer too and I never adapt. We just have to tough it out and slow down. Those higher reps are a different kind of burn. I like to mix it up that way
ReplyDeleteWe are bracing ourselves for a big time heat wave this week. Ugh
DeleteOooh, I'll bet those strawberries are good! I also want to know what you're going to do with them all.
ReplyDeleteI volunteered one year at the NYC marathon. I was at the finish line handing out roses to the women, which was pretty cool. But I think I like your position better, on the course. It would be fun to see all the different levels of runners come by.
We've been battling the heat for a couple months now. I think I'm acclimated, as much as possible. You'll get there! But the heat (and humidity) is never easy.
Most of the strawberries are in the freezer! My hubs will make jam with some of them. And of course, I'll blend them into smoothies!
DeleteOh, those strawberries look delish! I have volunteered at a lot of local races, but have not done any "big" events (other than packet pick-ups). That will be changing with my new locale, though ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt's got to be exciting to have all these new options to explore!
DeleteAdjusting to the heat is so hard, even if you think you're taking it easier... it'll just still feel so hard for a while.
ReplyDeleteWaterskiing, wow! And I love strawberries!
Yes! Waterskiing it so fun!
DeleteLoved reading about your volunteering stint, sounds really fun. I always thank people at water stations, even when I don't take water from them! I have worked at a few cross-country and relay races when I was a race official, as well as volunteering at parkrun almost every week of course. (LyzzyBee)
ReplyDeleteYes, I remember when you were volunteering at those cross country races!
Deleteoh wow those strawberries look incredible! What fun to pick your own.
ReplyDeleteSo cool that you'll be volunteering at the marathon as well! What a neat experience. I haven't done that before but I want to.
It was just as much fun as running the race!
DeleteOooh those look like some fresh and yummy strawberries. Will they get eaten as is or will you bake with them? So fun to do the water stop! I've never volunteered at one so wonder what you thought of being on "the other side" Looked like it was fun but hard work!
ReplyDeleteIt was truly a labor of love! I had a blast!
DeleteI'm usually not afraid of bugs, but a big cicada landing on me would probably give me a fright! I saw Cedar Point had a ton of mayflies which were freaking people out (pretty hilarious to watch the videos!).
ReplyDeleteWater stops are a lot of fun. I love cheering everyone on.
Mayflies are the worst, although the cicadas really creeped me out too! They're so slow and they just fly around blindly.
DeleteIt's great that you and your Trail Sisters friends volunteered at the race. I haven't volunteered at a large race, but I've joined my MRTT friends at water stops for local 5K's.
ReplyDeleteMy concern would be getting ticks on me rather then startling the cicadas when brushing up against the tall grass.Lyme disease is of big concern in our county.
I had a tick bite a few weeks ago, so been there done that!!
DeleteI have volunteered at our local marathon, handing out medals. It's not quite as well known as other races, but it's a big one here. I'm glad you're feeling a little better, and I hope that trend continues for you. And yay for water skiing! How exciting - I know how much you love it!
ReplyDelete